Crocodile Fern

Crocodile Fern (Microsorum musifolium 'Lady Crocodyllus') is the fern to choose when you want a bold, single leaf shape rather than the usual lacy frond. It forms a rosette roughly 80cm tall and wide, with broad glossy fronds crossed by a raised vein network that looks like crocodile hide. It is also one of the few statement indoor plants that is not toxic to cats or dogs.

Why you'll love it

• The foliage is the whole point. Wide, undivided, deep green fronds with a puckered vein pattern that reads as texture from across a room.
• Safe with pets. Not toxic to cats or dogs, so it can sit at floor level in a house where things get chewed.
• A manageable size. At about 80cm each way it fills a corner or a plant stand without taking over the room.
• Low maintenance for a fern. It handles ordinary indoor conditions far better than a maidenhair, and asks mainly for steady moisture.
• Slow and stable. Growth is unhurried, so it holds its shape for years and rarely needs repotting.

Where it works best

Indoors. Its main use anywhere in the country. Bright indirect light near an east facing window, a bathroom or a well lit hallway all suit it, and indoors your climate stops mattering for a plant this frost tender.

Pots and containers. It grows epiphytically, on trees rather than in soil, so a wide shallow pot with a chunky free draining mix beats a deep pot of dense potting mix.

Balconies and shaded courtyards. Outdoors it only works in tropical and subtropical gardens, in full shade and out of wind, which shreds the broad fronds.

Growing Crocodile Fern in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light, never direct sun, which scorches the fronds. Outdoors it is limited to frost free tropical and subtropical gardens in deep shade. In every other zone treat it as an indoor plant, and keep it away from air conditioning vents and heaters.

Soil. A chunky, open mix: orchid bark or coco chips blended through a quality potting mix. The pot must have a drainage hole, since dense mix holds water around the rhizome and rots it.

Water and humidity. Keep the mix lightly and evenly moist, watering once the top 2cm feels dry, and tip out the saucer. Humidity matters more than most expect, so group it with other plants or use a pebble tray in a dry room.

Feeding and grooming. Half strength liquid fertiliser monthly through spring and summer, none in winter. Cut tired fronds off at the base rather than trimming the tips, since a cut frond never regrows its end.

What to expect when it arrives

This fern is grown in tubes. You are buying a young plant with a few small fronds, not the mature rosette in the photograph, and it is best potted straight into a 200mm pot to grow on. Given the slow growth, expect two to three years to reach a full 80cm rosette.

Ferns dislike the dark of a delivery box, so unpack it promptly and expect a little edge crisping. Trim those fronds off at the base and give it a week somewhere bright and indirect. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse ferns suited to shady positions
• Getting fern growing conditions right
• More indoor plants that are safe with pets
• How to keep indoor plants alive

Common questions

Is it safe for cats and dogs?

Yes. Crocodile fern is not toxic to cats or dogs, so it suits a home where pets chew foliage. As with any plant, a large mouthful can still upset a stomach.

Why are the frond edges going brown and crisp?

Almost always dry air or a missed watering. Move it away from heating and cooling vents, keep the mix evenly moist, and raise the humidity around it.

Can I grow it outside?

Only in tropical and subtropical gardens, in deep shade and sheltered from wind. It is frost tender, so anywhere with cold winters it needs to live indoors.